Appalachian Montane Oak - Hickory Forest (Rich Type) - Ecological Community of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

NatureServe Unique Identifier: CEGL007692: Quercus alba - Quercus rubra - Quercus prinus / Collinsonia canadensis - Podophyllum peltatum - Amphicarpaea bracteata Forest

Park Vegetation Plot Summary

Tree Canopy: Quercus alba

Tree subcanopy: N/A

Tall Shrubs and Saplings: N/A

Short Shrubs and Saplings: N/A

Herbs (field): Podophyllum peltatum, Amphicarpaea bracteata, Collinsonia canadensis,

Nonvascular: N/A

Click photo to enlarge.
Photo provided by NatureServe.

GLOBAL COMMUNITY CONCEPT

These forests can occur across a broad elevation range (2,000-4,500 feet), and can occur in exposed topographic settings (upper slopes), as well as on more protected sites (edges of coves).
- Presumed upper Piedmont examples may be at lower elevations (e.g., below 1,000 feet).
This association includes forests dominated by Quercus alba, occurring over circumneutral soils in the Southern Blue Ridge and adjacent inner Piedmont.
- Other species that can be important in the canopy include Quercus rubra, Quercus coccinea, Quercus prinus, Quercus velutina, Carya glabra, and Carya alba.
- On some sites, species more typical of 'cove forests,' such as Fraxinus americana or Magnolia acuminata, may form a very minor component. Oxydendrum arboreum and Cornus florida are common in the subcanopy.
Heath species (Rhododendron maximum or Kalmia latifolia) are absent or very minor in the shrub stratum.
- On very high-base status soils, Philadelphus hirsutus or Lindera benzoin may be in the shrub stratum.
The herbaceous stratum can be quite diverse and is characterized by mesic herbs and species associated with circumneutral soils, such as Podophyllum peltatum Arisaema triphyllum ssp. triphyllum, Amphicarpaea bracteata, Adiantum pedatum, Collinsonia canadensis, Asplenium platyneuron, Actaea racemosa, Caulophyllum thalictroides, Sanguinaria canadensis, Tradescantia subaspera, Euphorbia purpurea, Phegopteris hexagonoptera, Polystichum acrostichoides, Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, and Dryopteris intermedia.

PARK VEGETATION PLOT SUMMARY

N/A

DISTRIBUTION

North America:

This community occurs in the southern Blue Ridge of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee in the eastern United States.

Click map to enlarge.
Potential	Occurs

Click map to view North American distribution.

In the Park:

This association was not observed or sampled on the Mount Le Conte quadrangle or Cades Cove quadrangle.
- It was documented from low elevations on the North Carolina side of the park, on the Smokemont quadrangle.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Global Status:

Global Conservation Status Rank: G3 (Last reviewed: 05 17 2002).
This montane oak-hickory forest is naturally limited to richer sites in the Southern Blue Ridge mountains and adjacent inner Piedmont.
- Later successional, unaltered occurrences are rare.
- Some stands have been impacted by removal of more valuable timber species (e.g., Quercus alba, other Quercus species) and the loss of herbaceous species diversity from the disturbance effects of logging.

Park Status:

Picking, digging, or otherwise damaging plants is prohibited in the Park. Collection is allowed only by special permit for research or educational purposes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Field Work:

NatureServe

Supporting Institutions:

N/A

Forest Association Described By:

K.D. Patterson

Web Page:

Charles Wilder.

Photographs:

NatureServe

Maps:

Charles Wilder.

REFERENCES

NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.

Peet, R. K., T. R. Wentworth, M. P. Schafale, and A.S. Weakley. 2002. Unpublished data of the North Carolina Vegetation Survey. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Schafale, M. 1998b. Fourth approximation guide. High mountain communities. March 1998 draft. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.

Schafale, M. P., and A. S. Weakley. 1990. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina. Third approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh. 325 pp.

Schafale, Mike P. Personal communication. Ecologist, North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.

Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.

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